Matthew 23:29-36 – The Eighth Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:29-36 – “29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

In the lab where I work, I have a co-worker who I constantly pestered about eating in the lab.  It is not that she would eat in the actual place where we performed experiments because that would certainly be a safety hazard, but she would sneak in a bite or two of candy in the office space right next to the lab, the office space where our computer stations are which has no separation from the bench space where we do the experiments.  I would tell her over and over, “Don’t eat in the lab!” but she would still do it.  One day, she got really annoyed (or at least that’s what I think) and called me out for being a hypocrite, because I would tell her not to eat in the lab but I would drink water from my water bottle in that same desk area.  Her poignant words definitely hurt, but they forced me to reevaluate what I was doing and switch my practices.  From now on, I place my water bottle in a designated area outside of the lab so that I wouldn’t be a hypocrite, although occasionally, I will still take a sip from it in that same desk area before I take it over there (if I am being lazy).  Nonetheless, that day taught me a simple but important lesson, I need to do as I ask people to do, and I should never judge another person for something I am also doing.  Often, we like to judge other people, when we clearly have some issues in our life that need correcting first.  Why do you think Christ made it a point to tell His disciples to first take the log (like a giant tree log) out of their eyes before trying to take the mote (a speck) out of another’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5)?  In a way, by asking us to examine our own hearts before passing judgment on others, He was guarding our hearts against hypocrisy.

The eighth and last woe to the Pharisees that Christ spoke in Matthew 23 focused on this final act of hypocrisy – they would judge a person for the same act they were doing.  These religious leaders thought of themselves as more holy than their fathers, who condemned instead of listened to the prophets of old (i.e. Jeremiah).  They acted like they would do differently by building beautiful tombs and monuments to these prophets, but in reality, they were just like their fathers unwilling to listen to the truth and ready to condemn a prophet of God.  Jesus Christ called them out on their hypocrisy and reprimanded them for pretending to be anything more than the unrepentant, unhearing people they were.  In reality, they were even worse than their fathers, because their fathers rejected the prophets but they rejected the Messiah Himself.  They said that they would have listened, yet they put Christ on the cross and eventually would persecute those who would carry the message of the Gospel, the disciples.  They would do exactly what vs. 34 states, “…Some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.”  Just look at Saul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, who actually went from town to town to persecute Christians until he met Christ on the road to Damascus and became Paul.  Look at what they did with Christ’s resurrection, as they tried to cover up the fact of His resurrection by blaming the disciples for “taking the body” something they clearly didn’t do (Matthew 28:11-15); this ultimate sign of His Godship was rejected by them.  These Pharisees although they acted like they would listen and obey God’s Word were actually just like their fathers – a brood of vipers that were hard of heart.

There are many people today who are just like the Pharisees, stating that they would listen to God if He revealed Himself yet still continue to utterly reject Him when He does.  They say that if God would provide and protect them, then they would follow Him; but they refuse to acknowledge His hand watching over them each day and giving them life.  They say that if God would make Himself known, they would follow Him; but they refuse to trust in His Word, the Bible, God’s revelation of Himself to us.  They say that if God would show them His love and compassion, they would love Him in return; but they refuse to see His love on the cross as He poured out His blood for us.  Like the Pharisees, they pretend to desire God, but they are just a brood of vipers who will continue to refuse the Gospel.  To these people, Christ calls us to dust off our feet and move on, for there are people around the world who desire to hear the Gospel who have yet to hear it.  In the same boat are many Christians, who say that if God would speak to them about a certain issue they would obey.  It could be about getting rid of some idols in their lives or finding new friends or becoming more active in ministry – whatever the situation, they say they will obey God when He speaks.  But when He speaks through His Word or His Spirit or His people, they just chock it up to a wrong interpretation and ignore it.  Like the Pharisees, they pretend that they will obey, when they actually just want to rule their own lives and yet appear holy.  What is funny is that these people actually have the nerve to judge others for disobeying as well.  That is complete hypocrisy.  As Christians, we must seek Christ with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths – that means a fully committed obedient heart which will obey no matter what.  It is a heart that does not seek to condemn others but to encourage them to pursue Christ too.  It is a heart that not only feels but turns those feelings into actions.  Let us not only speak about our obedience to God but actually obey.

Matthew 23:25-28 – The Sixth and Seventh Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:25-28 – “25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

I have never worked at a restaurant, but I have been told one of the hardest things to do as a waiter/waitress is to put a smile on your face and pretend you are happy when everything in your life is literally crumbling.  I can imagine the difficulty of putting on that mask as your heart is tearing at you from the inside out, for I had a similar ordeal when my parents left me in Maryland for my internship.  That day I had to go into this new workplace with people I did not know, pretending that everything was okay, when my heart was longing to go home with them.  I tried as hard as I could to hold back my tears, but when they called to tell me they were boarding the plane and would see me in a few months, my heart broke and those tears flowed.  Fortunately, I was able to muster a little decorum and get back to work, but I wouldn’t doubt if all my colleagues knew that I had just been crying.  It was hard to put on that mask of happiness when my whole world was changing.  I am definitely not good at putting on a mask, because I am a person who wears his heart on his sleeve.

The thing is though most people are actually pretty good at putting on masks in front of other people.  Just look at all the celebrities who appear to have their lives all together but are struggling with depression and other mental issues.  No one would suspect any of that just by looking at how they are in public.  Take an example from reality shows like “The Bachelor” where some girls put on a mask of kindness, care, and love in front of the guy but then when he isn’t looking lash out at all the girls.  Look at all the politicians who say they are for defending your rights and helping people but are just in there to make the biggest buck.  It’s just a mask.  They look one way in front of one group of people and another in front of another group.  It is all a lie.  If only we could see what a person was really feeling on the inside, what they were really thinking, what they were really dealing with, then maybe we could actually know the person.  For what we see outside means nothing; what matters is the heart.

Jesus’ sixth and seventh woe to the Pharisees focused on this exact issue – the Pharisees appeared righteous, clean, and pure on the outside, but they were actually devils in their hearts.  They looked good but were full of “hypocrisy and lawlessness.”  We must remember that the Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day; people looked up to them to understand and teach the law.  They were held with great esteem and were likely treated the same way society treats actors and actresses today.  Nobody would have thought of them as filled with wicked thoughts and motives, when they seemed to uphold all the laws and traditions.  Christ rebuked them for this hypocrisy twice in these two woes, using different metaphors to help them get the picture.  In the sixth woe, He compared them to what appeared to be a clean cup and plate on the outside but were filled with unwashed filth on the inside.  He rightly accused them of being filled with greed and self-indulgence, for all they were concerned about was their wealth and power.  They cared nothing for the people.  They faked like they cared by creating additional laws to prevent people from breaking God’s laws, but they were really just placing burdens on them that they did not intend to keep either.  They acted like they wanted to find the Messiah, but they would rather reject Him if it meant power for them.  They acted like they loved the law but did not follow its foundation.  Just look at all the times in the Gospels that they would compromise the law to fulfill their evil deeds.  They would look for false prophets to accuse Jesus when it is clear that they should not bear false witness against their neighbors.  They would try to trick the Lord into entrapping Himself (which they never could do), which they knew was wrong.  They even took a part in putting the Lord on the cross, making them an accessory to murder if not the actual perpetrators, since they planned it.  They were appearing clean, when they were actually filled with filth.  They cleaned the outside appearance, but the heart was wicked.  The seventh woe compared them to white washed tombs, which appear clean and beautiful when looking outside but are filled with dead men’s bones inside.  According to Jewish law, being around the dead, would make you unclean; therefore, when Christ said this woe, He was basically letting them know that just like a tomb, they looked beautiful on the outside (We can all agree that some cemeteries look beautiful.) but were only filled with the dead and unclean inside.  To help you better picture this, think about the Taj Mahal; it is a beautiful piece of architecture, but it actually is a mausoleum for a king’s dead queen.  These Pharisees did a great job of appearing righteous, but their hearts were filled with wickedness, which Christ called them on by calling them hypocrites.

Although living righteously through our actions and examples are very important, what is more important is our heart behind it.  It matters nothing if all we are trying to do is use righteousness as a ruse to gain power or fame.  If all we want is to gain the attention and praise of people, then it is nothing but wickedness, deception, and hypocrisy.  Christ came not to teach us to live holy lives but to make us holy.  He did not come just to set an example but to change our hearts so we cannot help but be that example.  He did not come to give us new laws but to make us new creatures.  Unlike the Pharisees, who had to constantly try to upkeep their mask of righteousness in order to hide their truly wicked hearts, we as disciples of Christ have been given new hearts that are overflowing with Christ’s love and Spirit.  Yes, we must live for Him.  Yes, we must be wary of the example we put out in front of people.  Yes, we must do all these things.  But, first and foremost, we must make sure our hearts are right with God, for we can do all these actions, but if we have no relationship with Him, it means nothing.  But if we do have a thriving, growing relationship with Him, those fruits cannot help but come out.  Christ did not rebuke the Pharisees for being clean outside but for not being clean inside.  He wanted them to not only live righteously but be righteous.  As Christians, we must always examine our hearts and make sure that it is in the right place with our Lord.  That all begins with the acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior (for only He can make a heart clean) and moves into discipleship, growth, and Bible reading and prayer.  There is nothing worse than being a white-washed tomb or a semi-clean cup, for those are still dirty; so let us not only live righteously to be seen by men, but because we cannot help but do so due to what Christ has done in us.

Matthew 23:16-24 – The Fourth and Fifth Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:16-24 – “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”

I have been working at my current job as a lab assistant in a biological research lab for almost a year and a half.  At the start, I was quite hesitant to speak out and give my opinion on anything from lab safety to how a specific experiment should be run.  But as I spent more time there, developed my skills, and gained confidence in my abilities, I began to assert myself a little bit more and more, until finally, I acted almost like a pseudo-lab manager, handling the safety of the lab while taking a more involved role in planning and executing my experiments.  The only problem with that is that I had a tendency to “sweat the small stuff” or in other words, blow small things out of proportion.  This tendency to focus on the nuances rather than important issues gave me problems not only in my experiments but my relationships with my colleagues.  It messed up my experiments because it slowed down my work efficiency, for I was “too careful” with things that I often did not accomplish all that I set out to do, just because I was being “too careful” and in reality slow.  It also messed up my relationships with my colleagues because it turned me into an irritant who constantly gave them trouble over things that literally didn’t matter much but were “rules” for the lab.  I lost sight of the big picture of general lab safety and achieving the lab goals and got caught up in little insignificant details.

The fourth and fifth woe that Christ mentioned to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 focused on this exact issue – the Pharisees got caught up in the little details and forgot the overall goal of drawing people closer to God.  The fourth woe is found in vs. 16-22 and focused on the specific action of making oaths; people in that day did the same things we do now they swear by various things to indicate the seriousness of their oaths.  At that time, the Pharisees gave value to certain oaths and not to others; if the oath was by the gold in the temple or by a sacrifice given in the temple, then it was a serious oath, but if the person swore by the temple or by the altar by which the sacrifice would be given then it could be ignored.  They gave value to the gold and the sacrifice because it was holy but did not even consider that the things that made them holy were the altar and the temple.  Jesus rebuked them for this wrong placement of importance and corrected their viewpoint on oaths, reminding them that if they swore to anything in the temple then they were swearing by the One who dwells in it, and if they were swearing by heaven, they were doing the same as swearing by God, for heaven was His throne.  He was trying to help them realize that an oath is serious no matter what it was sworn by and should never be taken lightly.  Just look at how Christ’s words on oaths in Matthew 5:33-37, “33 ‘Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply “Yes” or “No”; anything more than this comes from evil.’”  Oaths if it could be avoided were not supposed to be taken.  The religious leaders lost sight of this and instead gave different weights to different oaths, a big mistake.  They got caught up in the details of oath keeping and lost sight that all oaths should never been taken lightly.  They looked to the sacrifices and money instead of to God and ended up placing glory and honor on the wrong things.  They missed the big picture.

The second woe the Lord directed at them dealt with the weight that they had given to tithes and offerings while ignoring the parts of the law that involved justice, mercy, and faithfulness (vs. 23).  Because they were so enamored with money and offerings and tithes, they forgot to focus on more important matters like showing God’s love and care for people and teaching God’s laws.  All they cared about was what they could use to line their pockets.  They forgot what Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15:22, “…To obey is better than sacrifice…”  Instead of teaching God’s laws to the people so that they could have a closer relationship with Him, they used it to gain power and money for themselves.  They basically turned the laws of God into burdens for the people instead of instructions and guidance for life.  Christ once again rebuked the religious leaders for missing the more important points; it was not that tithes and offerings were not important but that they had ignored the more important parts of the law about loving God and loving people.  They sweat the small stuff and lost sight of what was more important.  Christ summed both these woes up in vs. 24, “You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”  He was basically letting them know that they were trying to fish out something so small while allowing big things to get away from them.  It is like trying to remove a fly from a pool when an elephant is sitting in it.  They were sweating something so small when they needed to concentrate on the big problem right in front of them, the attitude of their hearts.

We as Christians can easily get caught up in the little things and lose sight of the more important things, especially when we have been invested in the faith for a long time.  Just look at how so many of us are invested in our traditions instead of the Word of God; sometimes, we have even lost sight of why we do certain things and just do it because it is the way things have always been done.  We need to remember that the Christian walk is not about a bunch of Do’s and Don’t’s but having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  This is what we must emphasize when we disciple another person.  It is not to say that these things are not important but that they are less important than the weightier matters that the Lord places before us.  The Lord is not looking for more tithes and offerings from us.  He is not looking for us to sacrifice a bunch of our things.  He is not looking for the little additional rules we add to help prevent people from even coming close to sinning.  No!  God simply wants His disciples “to do justice, and to love kindness [mercy], and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).  We should never lose sight of this lest we become consumed with things of little importance.  To avoid that fourth woe, remember who God is and place Him first, nothing else; nothing else should ever be raised to His level and glory.  To avoid that fifth woe, remember Micah 6:8.  Let’s stop sweating the small things and start focusing on God.

Matthew 23:14 – The Second Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:14 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows’ houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.”

Many religious people and even non-religious people spend a lot of their time helping those who are less fortunate especially those who fall under the description of widows and orphans.  Some of them do it for the right reasons, wanting to help those in need to get back on their feet and live better lives, while others do it just to grab the attention of others, so that they will appear generous and caring.  The motive behind the action differs between different people.  We all can remember the movie/television scenes in which a rich person goes out to the homeless shelter and serves just to get a few community service hours for college or to make a media appearance – no heart for people and no care for anyone but himself.  It didn’t matter that they were doing something good, because we knew that the heart behind it was all wrong.  What really matters is the heart.

In our passage today, the second woe that Jesus spoke against the religious leaders focused on this exact thing – the heart behind something.  These religious leaders did everything they could to appear righteous and holy before the people, but in reality they were just trying to win their affection to gain power and control.  Christ stated that they “devour widows’ houses” and for “a pretense…make long prayers…”  If you think about it carefully, these two actions cannot take place together in an honest fashion, one must be a façade for the other.  Either you are truly making prayers to the God of comfort, love, justice, grace, mercy, and holiness or you are heartlessly taking over a person’s life who is in a disadvantaged situation.  James 1:27 states, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”  If this verse is taken into consideration, it makes no sense to pray long prayers to God when you are doing the exact opposite actions of what He would desire you to do.  These religious leaders were using these long prayers to appear righteous and holy to the people, but in reality, they were just taking advantage of those who could not defend against them.  John Gill, the writer of John Gill’s Expositor, even went so far as to consider that maybe they were taking advantage of these widows in their precarious position by making them pay so that long prayers may be made for them to God, similar to what happened with indulgences in the sixteenth century.  Jesus reprimanded these religious leaders for their pretense and their heart.

We as Christians today must also consider the heart behind which we do things for others and especially for God.  Are we praying and fellowshipping and serving in a ministry just to get attention from people?  Are we just looking to get favor from others and seeking our fulfillment in the applause of men like these Pharisees did?  Are we serving God to “earn His favor” or to “get Him to do something for us” or to “obtain a blessing”?  These are all the wrong reasons.  When we serve the Lord, it must be with a heart fully devoted to Him with no hidden agendas.  We serve Him because we love Him.  We serve others because we love God and want His love to be showed to them tangibly.  What is your heart behind your service?  Always ask yourself this and be wary when serving never to swerve from that final focus of the Lord.  Remember the Lord cares not for outward appearance, for He looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Matthew 23:13 – The First Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:13 – “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

When Jesus came to earth and began His ministry, He did not attack the people you would normally think He would go after like the prostitutes and the tax collectors (traitors to the Jewish nation), and the sinners; instead, He went after the religious leaders, those who were at the forefront at the Temple, those who should be setting the best example for the people to follow, those who would be considered “righteous” in the population’s eyes.  But Christ saw their hearts and did not find one that longed for the glory of God but their own.  He saw behind their hypocrisy and reproved them constantly but none so much as is found in Matthew 23, where He pronounced eight woes upon them for various reasons.  As we all know, the word woe indicates trouble and grief and heartache, just like when one says, “Woe is me.”  It is not a word of blessing but a word of pain and trouble.  When Christ pronounced these “Woes” to the Pharisees and scribes and other religious leaders of His day, He was clearly rebuking them for a number of actions. 

This first woe that began it all is found in our passage today, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”  Christ began His rebuke with the one most atrocious thing that these religious leaders did – they tried to keep people from the kingdom of heaven, in other words, they tried to keep people from turning to Christ.  These Pharisees and scribes not only rejected the Gospel but they did everything in their power to make sure others wouldn’t accept it as well.  They would discourage them.  They would cast them out of the Temple.  They would defame the name of Christ.  They would lie, deceive, cheat, murder, and do any other heinous act to destroy the Gospel and to prevent people from turning to Christ.  They were so afraid of losing their power and position, that they missed the Messiah in front of them and incited the mob who would call for His death.  Like power hungry rulers, they tried to stifle any opposition, but what they did not realize was they were fighting against God.  They were preventing people from turning to God. 

In our day and age, we see this happening all around us.  There are people who reject the Gospel and try to persuade others to their opinion, and if they cannot, they usually force them.  This happens in science, a realm that I am quite familiar with, working in a research lab.  Many of the top scientists like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking do everything they can to discredit those who believe in Creation and the literal interpretation of the Bible.  They will not even consider a person who does not fully accept evolution as a good scientist.  In philosophy, you surely have this bias too, for the Christian worldview is not readily accepted but one that must be fought for and defended in a much more rigorous fashion.  Christian principles and doctrines are looked upon as outdated in society, and those who accept Christ as the only Way are seen as intolerant.  I can go on and on about how people are rejecting the Gospel and doing everything they can to prevent others from accepting it too. 

But that is not what we, as disciples of Christ, need to focus on, for we already knew that persecution like the ones we are experiencing today will come.  Our focus should be on our own lives and whether we are helping people to enter the kingdom of heaven or not.  Are we being hypocrites to the cause of Christ?  So often, it is the witness of some Christian that prevents a person from turning to Christ, for they see the wickedness and sin that he is still participating in and consider it hypocrisy.  They see people who have no love for people, no concern for others, no mercy, grace, or compassion; they only see “religious nuts” out to condemn them yet still continue in sin themselves.  If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that most of us at some point have tarnished the name of Christ and our witness.  We have, in a way, prevented a person from entering the kingdom of heaven; we have placed a stumbling block for them.  This woe would at least partially apply to us.  If it does, let it not cause you to be burdened by guilt; instead let it encourage you to remove that stumbling block, to live an enticing, holy life, and to encourage others to turn to Christ.  Use this as a wake-up call to straighten up and live in a way that will not prevent others from entering the kingdom of heaven. 

Side Note:  In a way, we can look at this verse from a different angle as well, although it may be stretching the context of it.  This woe spoke of those who refused to enter the kingdom of heaven and prevented others from doing so as well.  There are many occasions in which we are told to obey God and would rather sit in our own devices and disobey.  In those cases, usually God sends someone who will obey to convict and to draw to Him.  But instead of repenting and obeying, the tendency is to do the exact opposite and try to convince that other person to fall into sin, as well.  We must be careful never to do that, but to instead obey the Lord and follow Him, encouraging others to do so also.  In Matthew 18:6, we are told that those who cause others to stumble should have a millstone tied to their necks and drowned in the ocean.  Jesus Christ said this, making it clear, that He took this sin of leading others astray very seriously.  We must never do anything to push a person away from Christ.  We must do everything in our power to draw them to Him, whether it is encouraging them to grow in Christ or to start a relationship with Him.  Be wary never to allow this first woe to apply to you.